Meet the Charity Team
100% Volunteer Run
Jane Marshall/Soman Chödon
Director and Co-Founder
Hi everyone. I fell in love with Tsum before I even traveled there. It’s a place that has somehow always been in my heart. My first trip was in 2012 when I wrote my book Back Over the Mountains. I was moved by the strength and resiliency of a people living in such direct contact with nature. I was also moved by the realization that reliable education and medical care were not present. I asked my Tsum friends what they felt they needed most, and the answers were always the same.
Healthcare and education.
When the 2015 earthquakes hit Nepal I remember sobbing uncontrollably. The epicentre was extremely close to Tsum and I worried if anything was left of the place I held so dear. There was much damage and destruction. This propelled us into action and The Compassion Project was born. We registered that year as a Canadian Charity.
Since then, so much has been learned and built.
Our health workers have shared many images of patients from our clinic, including fall victims, children with lacerations and mothers holding their new babies after safe deliveries. Every time I see these patients I know they haven’t had to walk or be carried to a medical centre far from home. And I feel immense gratitude for every sponsor who has ever donated to make this possible.
Dhawa Tashi
Treasurer
My name is Dhawa Tashi. I was born in Lamaguan, Tsum Valley which is located in remote northern region of Nepal. I was raised in Kathmandu and received my high school certificate from Shree Mangal Dvip High School, a school school for Himlayan children established by Venerable Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche. When I was about 18 years old, I came to Toronto, Canada for my further studies and I received my Business Administration & Management diploma from Humber College.
In April 2015, Nepal had a devastating earthquake which affected almost every part of the country, and my hometown Tsum Valley was one of the badly affected areas. I decided to create a GoFund Fundraising campaign page and then went to my hometown to support and show love to my family, friends, and people affected by the earthquake. One of the major things needed was health care facilities, and during those struggling times, the government had given authorization to run a medical facility for a 6 month period in remote areas of Nepal. My team along with Dungse Lama Pema, Lopsang Chhiring and Jane Marshall decided to operate a medical facility in Tsum Valley. This is how the Compassion Health Centre started.
I believe it’s very important to support and contribute towards my hometown because it’s located in a remote area of Nepal where local people have no access to proper education, transportation, health facilities and so on. Nepal is ranked as one of the poorest countries in the world and the government hasn’t been able to support much in my hometown. Within my own family members, my sister passed away after she gave birth due to blood loss and I think if there were medical facilities back then, she could have been with us today. This situation motivates me to do something for my hometown so that what happened to my family doesn’t happen to others.
Lopsang Chhiring Lama
Co-Founder
Lopsang was born in Chokang, a village in upper Tsum Valley. He attended a local school up to grade five, then had to move down valley to continue his education. It was a challenging time for him. As a young boy he was living away from his parents and studying in Nepali, not his village dialect.
Through hard work and with his family's support, he graduated from college and was recruited into the Nepal police. Now, he travels the globe working as vessel security for Norwegian Cruise Lines. He also works as a guide, proudly showing trekkers Tsum's local culture, people, and landscapes. Lopsang is also a skilled photographer, and his images grace the pages of Tsum's first trekking guide.
Meet our Nepali Staff
Sujata Thokor
Auxiliary Nurse Midwife
Sujata has worked at the health centre since 2019. She comes from Dolakha district and completed her nursing course at Dolakha Multi Sectoral Training Institute. Sujata is not from the mountains, so moving to Tsum was a big change. She had to get used to its remote location, dangerous paths, and new people and culture. Now, she bravely makes home visits, emergency hikes to help others, and she single handedly managed COVID 19 outbreaks and saved many lives.
I’m very glad to work with the Tsum people. They are very humble, loving and caring like my own parents. Our clinic is providing them with free treatment and medicine which is helping their health and is easy to access from their own village.
The villagers love Sujata and all she does for them, and the Compassion Project is happy to have such a brave, strong woman providing consistent care in the remote mountains.
Sunita Gurung
Teacher
Sunita comes from the Gorkha district of Nepal. She studied in government school and passed her secondary education exams. She has a dream of going to college, but because of her family situation she hasn’t been able to attend.
Sunita wanted to become a teacher because she enjoys being with children. She feels she’s well suited to this position because of her personality. At Compassion Education School Sunita gives the children play time, opportunities to read, then they get a healthy hot lunch, dance, have a nap, and make pictures.
“The school encourages children to come regardless of age, caste, religion, or socio-economic status and it prevents illiteracy in the community,” says Sunita. “It allows the community people to have dreams and it represents the future.”
Tanzin Lama
Nepali Operations Coordinator
I was born and raised in Tsum Valley. I travelled to Philim for secondary education when I was 12 years old, then graduated with a Bachelor in Tourism Management. I have completed my Mountaineering and Mountain Leader Courses. Recently, I climbed Mera Peak (6,470 m) and Labuche (6,119 m). I have the noble objective of promoting and conserving the Shakya tradition of non-violence in Tsum Valley, as well as local language, culture, and traditions. I am deeply involved in promoting tourism activities in the valley with the intention of helping local people financially, by conserving our natural biodiversity and pristine environment for future generations. All the guides and porters employed in my company are from Tsum with a major focus on the consumption of local food and patronage of local accommodation during treks.
Since the establishment of my company in 2015, I have been handling the groups of American and global health workers conducting the ‘Tsum Valley Medical Mission.’ The successful organization of such a huge trekking group with the great intention to improve the health of local people has provided me a lot of knowledge on how to manage treks. I have travelled all the Himalayas of Nepal in the role of trek leader. The medical missions in Tsum along with treks in other regions of Nepal have been a remarkable part of my career.
I am grateful to be part of the Compassion Health Centre team since its establishment in 2015.